Total pages in book: 33
Estimated words: 30019 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 150(@200wpm)___ 120(@250wpm)___ 100(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 30019 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 150(@200wpm)___ 120(@250wpm)___ 100(@300wpm)
I manage to catch up to her on the far side of the courtyard.
"Hey. Why'd you run off?"
"I didn't. I'm going to class," she mutters, not looking at me.
I jump in front of her so she can't go around me. "Why were you talking to Corey?"
"Why do you care?" she asks, scowling at me.
I don't understand women. Really, I don't. They get moody and cranky and ask the strangest questions. Like that one. Why do you care? When haven't I cared about any and everything Troian related?
I spend the majority of every day thinking about her, worrying about her. At night, I dream about her. About what it would be like to fuck her, to hold her while she sleeps. To wake up next to her every morning. I bet she's cute as hell when she first wakes up. It makes me crazy that I don't already know exactly what she looks like when those beautiful eyes first open in the morning.
"Why were you talking to Corey, Troian?" I ask instead of telling her any of that. I'm not trying to get my ass kicked here.
"Because I can."
"Troian."
"We're going to Prom together."
I rear back on my heels, shocked.
It feels like she just slapped me. Or punched me in the gut. Maybe both. For a minute, I forget how to breathe. The whole world falls out of focus. And then it lurches back into focus with a jarring thud. Possessive jealousy sends my temper soaring.
"He asked you to Prom?" I growl.
"No. I asked him."
I stare at her for a minute, trying to decide if I want to kill him first or spank her. Kill him first. Definitely kill him since spanking her is liable to get me in a whole shit ton of trouble. I'll have to do that later, once I get her in private. Preferably near a bed so I can make love to her afterward.
"Go straight to class," I mutter, stepping to the side.
She frowns at me. "Where are you going?"
"I have something to take care of."
"Okay," she says, shaking her head like I'm not making any sense.
And then I notice that her eyes are red. So is her nose.
Shit. I didn't imagine the tears earlier. She was crying.
My soul quivers in protest.
"You've been crying."
"What? No, I haven't. Go away and stop bugging me," she says, her face falling into a severe scowl.
I consider arguing the point, but quickly decide it won't get me anywhere. Troian is a beautiful little butterfly. She's also the most stubborn woman I've ever met. I've told her a thousand times to tell me if someone is mean to her, but she never does. I always find out about it after the fact. She tries to handle everything herself.
So, I'll just go straight to the source of this problem.
"Fine," I say. "Straight to class, butterfly."
"You're not the boss of me, Gage Bronx."
"Troian, go to class."
She sticks her tongue out at me, but finally moves toward the door. I wait until I'm sure she's actually going to class, and then I take off in search of Corey. Our classmates crowd the courtyard, trying to catch a few moments of sunlight before the next bell rings. Luckily for me, Corey isn't hard to find. He stands a good foot taller than damn near everyone else.
"Gaines!" I shout when I spot him sitting on the low wall outside the gym with a couple of his friends from the soccer team.
He looks up and then sighs.
I crook a finger, ordering him to come to me. If I have to take him and his buddies on, I will, but I'd prefer for this to be a fair fight if it comes to that. Five to one isn't good odds for anyone.
He rises to his feet and crosses toward me.
"Bronx." He stops a few feet from me, crossing his arms. His closed-off expression oozes suspicion. As if I'm the problem here. He's the fucker after my girl.
"She's not going to Prom with you."
"That's her decision, not yours."
"I'm making it mine," I growl.
He eyes me for a moment, not saying anything. And then he shakes his head, a sharp bark of laughter ripping from his lips. "You're unbelievable, you know that?"
"What does that mean?"
"It means that girl would have exploded with happiness if you had asked her to the dance," he says, "But you didn't. You decided to break her heart and take someone else. Now you're pissed that she's going with me? If that's how you treat people who love you, Troian is better off without you."
"I…" I snap my mouth closed, unease ghosting through me. He's the second person today to tell me that I hurt her. It was easy to doubt coming from Victoria. She would have said or done anything to take the attention away from me shooting her down. The comment isn't so easily ignored coming from Corey, however.